"All of that...for a drop of blood."
The first real battle begins.
I hope Taylor's cleverness shines through, here, because I thought her spur of the moment strategy against Medusa was actually really clever.
Also, yes, in case it isn't clear, I've been writing this as a mix between the First Order OVA and the original FGO script. The original script worked better to introduce the characters, but its nature as a tutorial level was really felt, in my opinion, and the li...
2021-04-17 16:03:00 +0000 UTC
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This idea has been in my head for a while, and I need to exorcise it.
Maybe one day, it will become a thing. For now, though, it's just going to be a oneshot.
Link is here.
2021-04-13 11:50:17 +0000 UTC
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In lieu of expecting comments in the chapter posts, I'm going to come out and ask directly for you guys to give your opinion.
2021-04-13 11:46:33 +0000 UTC
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Remember when I said things would probably slow down?
Uh, yeah. I underestimated how quickly I was going to get these early chapters done, just because I'm not as excited for Hereafter as I was when I started Essence.
In any case, we're still experimenting a little bit with the characters, here, so I'd like to know if you guys think the dynamic between Ritsuka, Rika, Taylor, and Olga Marie works well. Please comment below and let me know.
2021-04-07 22:17:34 +0000 UTC
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The first interlude of Hereafter.
I want to show a little bit of why Taylor and Olga Marie have the relationship they do, so I'm going to start at the beginning of that here.
Link is here.
2021-04-04 17:45:58 +0000 UTC
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Not married to that title, either.
A certain rune-using doggo should show up in this chapter, as well as a particular snek.
Link is here.
2021-04-04 17:43:39 +0000 UTC
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I...am actually not sure what to call this one. What I have up there currently isn't a title I'm married to, so it might change when the time comes for this chapter to come out in full. For now, though, I'll stick with this.
Link is here.
Lucky numbers!
2021-04-04 16:28:58 +0000 UTC
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May need to give this one another once over, but I wanted to get this out before the end of the month, so I pulled an all-nighter to get this finished.
Things are a little awkward with this chapter. I'm still trying to figure out where Taylor fits with the current dynamics between the characters and how her relationships with the Chaldea staff might look. Some hints are in here, and a lot of them are kinda subtle, only not that subtle.
I hope you all enjoy, either way.
2021-03-31 21:33:40 +0000 UTC
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I'm still not sure about the timing of this stuff. When it'll all be done, how long it's going to take. A lot remains in flux.
But let's get started on actually getting into the story, now that the premise has been established.
Link here.
2021-03-24 13:55:41 +0000 UTC
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So I probably should have talked about this sooner, but things are going to slow down for at least a little while.
Originally, I was split between doing We Have Come to Terms and Hereafter, so I wrote up a first chapter for each of them and considered doing both at once. In the process, however, my editing team and I had a sit down and talked about what it would mean to try that, and the conclusion reached was that it would take a lot of time and meticulous planning to...
2021-03-20 09:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Everyone, please, please let me know your thoughts with this one. I'm incredibly uncertain whether or not to keep the idea of "Taylor Hebert and the Fujimaru twins save the world." It might seem like a bit of a copout, instead of just picking a gender for Ritsuka and being done with it, but there's a lot that I think I'd have to cut out if I pared it down to just one.
Thematically, Ritsuka as the naive idealist with a compassionate heart and Vlad III as the hard man who made his l...
2021-03-20 08:25:42 +0000 UTC
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For now... Unfortunately, the one and only chapter of this story.
I'll explain more in a minute, but this thing would just be too massive an undertaking to get started this quickly. As a result, it's being relegated to the "maybe I'll come back to it later" bin.
Enjoy this small part of it for what it is, then. I'm sorry I can't promise you more of it.
2021-03-20 08:14:12 +0000 UTC
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Over the weekend, I gave the SV thread and the general public the chance to ask questions about Essence and its creation. The way things worked out, they had about four hours initially to ask whatever they liked, and although I opened it back up later, I would have preferred if the thing had just stayed open, because it seems like everyone just assumed it was closed for good.
Now, here's you guys' chance. While I work more on WHCTT and Hereafter this week, I'm giving you all the chance ...
2021-03-09 16:35:02 +0000 UTC
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It's kinda wild to think about how long these have been hanging around while I worked on Essence. Even wilder to think that it's been over a year since WHCTT was first dreamed up (and never went anywhere, because I didn't focus on it).
For now, as these are both the first chapter of new fics, I'm going to leave these CiP links open to everyone. If and when I write more in these stories, standard CiP rules and Lucky Numbers will apply.
As a reminder: Hereafter is the Worm x F...
2021-03-02 12:41:47 +0000 UTC
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Because I'm not going to stop being a writer just because Essence is over.
At this point, I'm not entirely sure where I'm going next. I have three projects I could start or have already started, a fourth that I want to do but am not ready to start in earnest, and I'm not positive which one I should focus on and which I should either make side projects or leave to the wayside.
The first is Fate/Recursive Wisdom. Some of you enjoy it, but it's obviously not something al...
2021-02-26 17:07:07 +0000 UTC
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At long last, we come to the final chapter. This journey that we've been on for the last three years, it hasn't always been easy. There were some rough patches, some moments where I struggled to get anything done, and a lot of stuff happened in the meantime.
But here we are, at the end. With this chapter, the story of An Essence of Silver and Steel is finally complete. Is there more I could do with it? Certainly. But if we're speaking of sequels, then I'm afraid I'll have to di...
2021-02-22 16:08:05 +0000 UTC
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Surprise! Bet no one was expecting this chapter to be from this character's perspective. Well, someone made a suggestion about her in the SV thread a while back, and I was like, "You know, that might not be a half bad idea." Somehow, I don't think they had exactly this in mind, but hey, I never said I wasn't making the idea my own.
Well, I've said it at some point before that I hate treating characters like stereotypes or cardboard cutouts, and I prefer treating them like peopl...
2021-02-15 21:25:04 +0000 UTC
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Is this a day early, or a few days late?
I underestimated how much this was going to take and how hard it was going to be to get right. Even now, my editor and I both agree that it lacks a certain ephemeral or ethereal quality, not enough "Alice in Wonderland," as he put it, but neither of us is quite sure how to fix that.
Nonetheless, here's the first chapter of the epilogue. It really kinda feels more like an "Interlude 11.c," compared to where E.2 and E.3 are going to wind up, ...
2021-02-05 22:06:52 +0000 UTC
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One last surprise CiP for you guys.
I realize that I haven't given much away with Queen of the Abyss - that is, Project Nietzsche - so I thought I'd approach the idea for that one Alternate Essence short from last Christmas ("Hail to the ???") from the opposite direction and drop end-of-series Taylor Hebert on QotA's early canon instead.
It lets me do a Decuple oneshot at the same time, too. I'll need to look into getting back to some of those while I plan out the next big project...
2021-01-24 18:32:48 +0000 UTC
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The third epilogue chapter.
I think you guys are going to be really surprised how this one starts, if I don't change my plans and put it in E.2 instead. The end will probably be a good surprise, though.
Link.
Lucky numbers! This is an odd one, because it's another lucky number immediately after the last one. This time, 7 tier patrons get ac...
2021-01-24 18:26:52 +0000 UTC
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The second epilogue chapter. I already have a basic idea of what I want to do with the first and third, so this one is going to take a little more thought, but I'm putting out the link so that I don't forget to hand it out later.
Link.
Lucky numbers! (90) 3&7 tiers, you get this one, too.
2021-01-24 18:22:25 +0000 UTC
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Just gonna put these out here so you guys have them and I don't forget to give the links later.
Link.
2021-01-24 18:18:41 +0000 UTC
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And now we come full circle.
This one is a little shorter than usual, barely broke 3K, but it has what it needs to have, and adding just more for the sake of padding would bloat it.
Next, there'll be three epilogue chapters to close out the story. A few surprises should still be in store for those.
2021-01-21 17:08:24 +0000 UTC
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New Year's...wasn't a great time. It threw me off, and I needed to get my head back on straight before I could write this and get it finished.
However, in exchange, it's extra long, about 6.4K words. I hope this climax of the battle - indeed, of the story itself - meets to your satisfaction.
Next up is the final interlude, 11.b: Tautological Mercy. Then, we'll have three epilogue chapters.
We're in the final stretch. At last, Essence is nearing its end.
2021-01-17 13:50:57 +0000 UTC
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The end of the battle. The final climax of Essence.
It's not yet time to bring this story to a close, but this is where the conflict is truly finished.
Link.
2020-12-30 14:34:26 +0000 UTC
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Almost there. It feels kinda incredible to be this close, now. I think there's maybe four or five chapters left in the whole story, and there's definitely some mixed sentiments about saying goodbye to a story this long and that has lasted almost four years.
Wow. When I put it that way, I'm not sure what to think.
In any case, I overestimated a little. I think next chapter will be the last fight chapter, the chapter after that will be Interlude 11.b, and then we'll have maybe 3 epi...
2020-12-30 14:30:42 +0000 UTC
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What's that? Is that Santa Claus I hear?
No. But have this present anyway.
This is just loads of fluff that I wrote in one sitting, but I hope you all enjoy it - and your holidays - either way.
2020-12-26 01:19:27 +0000 UTC
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Hm, maybe we won't make it all the way to 11.10 after all.
Ah, we'll have to see. I'm not quite sure how far the fight will progress this chapter, but we're approaching the climax and that might wind up being next chapter instead of two chapters from now.
Link.
Lucky numbers! 3 & 7 this time.
2020-12-23 23:32:35 +0000 UTC
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So, 2020 seems like it's trying to get a last few kicks in before the end. The last two weeks have been a bit...
Two... I hesitate to call them family emergencies, but they kind of were? Are? In any case, there've been a few scares, and not everything is resolved, but hopefully things won't deteriorate. I'm not going to get into details, but between those and the standard existential dread that seems determined to dog me these last few Christmases, I was a bit distracted.
Hopefull...
2020-12-23 23:30:12 +0000 UTC
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This...took a lot longer than I would have liked. I wanted this out so much earlier, but this arc has been a little uncooperative the deeper into the fight we get.
My younger self would probably be aghast. I have so much easier a time writing emotional moments now than I do fight scenes.
I hope the chapter makes up for the delay. Some people might say "good riddance," but I hope the sendoff was appropriately heroic for a character that most don't often think is particularly heroic...
2020-12-12 21:17:47 +0000 UTC
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